A Matter of Time
by Hiraethereal
Summary: Set after "Angels Take Manhattan". The Doctor meets a girl in New York City with a mysteriously blank past, unstable present, and highly questionable future. She has set out to find her answers. Others have set out to kill her before she reaches her solutions. The Doctor has set out to stop her oppressors at every turn. It's only a matter of time before someone's time runs out.


**Hello all! My first fanfiction posting on this account... yay! This is set directly after "Angels Take Manhattan" In Doctor Who, so we're with the 11th Doctor right after... tragic events happened ((sobbing still)). This story was kind of an impromptu write, so let me know if you want me to continue or not. As always, all characters (except my own, in this case, Jude) do not belong to me, they belong to Doctor Who/BBC! Hope you enjoy. :)**

The cold New York City breeze that swelled between the brick alley walls felt as if it were blowing straight through him, as if his torso were replaced with a beaten up screen door.

His footsteps echoed and bounced off the brick walls and made the air around him shiver with the sound. He wanted to disappear; the air was frosty enough without his bitter presence.

The Doctor watched his feet chasing after each other: right running from left, left escaping right, repeat. The TARDIS was just a little ways ahead around a corner, sleeping peacefully in the shadows.

He should've left the city by now. But he couldn't bring himself to yet.

River had sent him off somewhere else to distance himself from the place that took his dearest friends away. And she had told him to never travel alone before she left him.

His jaw tensed at the thought. He couldn't remember what smiling felt like.

He couldn't travel with anyone right now. Because they would all look like Amelia.

They would all have her kind eyes and fiery hair, and her hugs and laughter that felt like family and safety and home. They would all have the sassy Scottish accent and the warm hands.

He couldn't look at anyone without seeing her. His little girl who waited.

And now he was the one waiting for her. He couldn't bring himself to leave New York City, because what if she somehow could get back to him? What if he thought of a solution to get her back? What if she was alive somewhere, waiting for him to come and get her back?  
The Doctor knew in the deepest parts of his numb heart that that wasn't sensible at all. There was no way she was alive anywhere and there was no way for them to see each other again.

But he still couldn't bring himself to leave.

A chill blew through the empty alleyway and forced goosebumps to the surface of his skin. The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets, clenching his teeth together, and continued walking.

He almost walked right past the struggle.

As he was crossing a perpendicular alleyway, he heard them to his right. The Doctor immediately backed into the alley behind him, sticking close to the frigid brick wall. The street lamps were, fortunately, broken and burnt out, so he was concealed in the darkness.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed and his ears strained to pick up the hushed conversation happening between the large, burly male and the tiny female he had backed into the wall.

"...promised me my damn money. Now fork it over," The man hissed into her face.

The woman said nothing. Her body language appeared unbothered and unafraid, despite the man having at least a foot or two on her.

"I'm warning you, little lady, you're playing with some dangerous fire."

"In that case, I don't mind the heat," she spat at him.

In a swift motion, the man's fist snapped up and fixed itself securely around the girl's neck and kept her pinned tightly to the wall. He lifted her by the throat until her feet dangled in the air. Strangled sounds of broken breaths escaped her throat.

The Doctor's hearts caught in his throat and his feet carried him towards the pair without him even thinking.

"I think it would be in your best interest to take your hand off of her."

The man's head whipped around towards The Doctor, and The Doctor could hear the girl's breathing become more even than before. His grip must've loosened just enough for her to breathe when he made his presence known.

The man's eyes glinted with a sinister look as a smirk graced his lips. "Yeah? And what if I don't feel like it?"

The Doctor returned his cold smile and reached into his coat, taking out his psychic paper and holding it up to the man's face. He was hoping it would show him a police badge.

"Well, in that case I could just call for backup and we could take a lovely stroll down to the station, and judging by the fear now present in your eyes, you can't afford to have that happen. I suggest you get out of my sight in the next 10 seconds and I might let you off the hook."

The man shot death glares at The Doctor as he retracted his hand from the girl's neck, promptly turning and scurrying down the alley and around a corner.

The girl dropped to the alley floor, catching herself on her hands. Head bowed, she coughed and sucked in lungfuls of air.

The Doctor knelt down and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"What was that about?"  
She quelled her coughing and wiped at her mouth. "I owed him money I don't have."

A moment of silence passed between them. The girl kept her head bowed and took deep breaths. The Doctor's hand softened and fell from her shoulder as her body stopped shaking and calmed.

She sighed a final breath and shyly looked up. "...thanks."

The Doctor's world stopped spinning for a moment. For a split second, he could've sworn it was Amelia looking up at him. But upon further inspection, it wasn't. She had the same fiery hues in her hair, but it was lighter and more blonde looking. Her eyes were light and almost transparent with notes of whiskey brown in them, but they were primarily a pale green color. Her lips were the same plump pink shape, her cheeks were the same round and rosy shade, her nose was the same button. Light freckles were splashed across her nose like constellations scattered across a pale sky. From a distance, if only for a moment, she was Amelia.

But she wasn't.

The Doctor's heart shattered and sank all over again. He looked away in embarrassment and guilt.

"..Mister?"  
He momentarily was welcomed back into reality by her voice. While in his daze, she had stood up and brushed herself off. Her hand was held out and offered to him.

He took it and stood up. Her grip was warm and firm like hers…

The girl searched The Doctor's eyes that were looking at her but not quite at her. They were somewhere else, up in the clouds, just out of her reach. Her hand still held his limp one, and she gave it a squeeze.

"What was your name, again?"

The Doctor's hand slipped from hers and fell back down to his side. "Not important. I must be going now." He turned and began walking away.

"But I'm curious."

His steps faltered. Her voice had the same ferocity behind it as Amy's.

She continued. "Maybe it isn't important, but I'm curious now. So even if it pertains to nothing, I'd like to know."

She walked up and around him to face him once again.

"I'll go first, even if it isn't important. My name is Jude."

The Doctor met her eyes with hesitance. "Just.. call me The Doctor."

She offered a small smile. "Nice to officially meet you."

The Doctor felt the most miniscule hint of a smile creep into his eyes.

More silence passed between them. The sounds of the city around them felt distant, yet still so present.

The Doctor took a breath. "May I ask you a question, Jude?"  
"Go for it."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and even if it came from a place of fleeting and temporary happiness, it felt new and exciting.

"If you could go to one place anywhere in the entire universe, where might you go?"

 **Aaaand we're off! I promise 11 isn't moving on straight away from Amy and Rory! The story is just beginning. :)**


End file.
